Julia Wright is twelve and should be in Grade 6 at Mountain View Primary with her best friend Xanthe Briggs, who is worried about starting high school next year. Because Julia is ‘gifted and talented’ she has been accelerated two years and is in Year 8 at Malvern College. Ellen Hartley and Tahnee Fabris "from Read My Mind!" are in her homeroom.
Academically Julia thrives in Year 8, but socially she is isolated, many of her classmates finding her immature and a pain. Every day at school she struggles with the verbal bullying that is the consequence of her not fitting in.
Julia also excels in art and music, her two major loves. In Hobart for a music festival, She is surprised when she inadvertently exposes a heart-wrenching secret and makes a new friend. Then a hilarious chance meeting with a boy named Felix gives Julia the courage to follow her dreams, When her mother is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness (MS), Julia’s trip is cut short and her chance to perform in the prestigious Festival seems doomed.
This is a novel for 10 - 14 year olds about friendship, being ‘gifted’, moving to high school, not fitting-in, bullying, family ties, believing in your own talents and following your heart.
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Krista Bell is a full-time writer of books for young people who lives in Glen Iris, Victoria, with her husband and three boys. She travels around Australia giving writing workshops at schools and libraries. Krista has reviewed books on ABC radio and in print, run literary weekends and written for literary journals. She is the author of the Start-Ups book Sniffy the Sniffer Dog, and the Takeaways books Read My Mind!, No Regrets, No Strings, Get a Life! and Who Cares?.